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Ruben is the toy designer at Mattel who replaced Terry Higuichi. Ruben designed Snake Armor He-Man, but Terry goes waaaay back, he worked on the vintage line. Ruben has been making a bunch of questionable decisions for Classics such as black plastic, another green Clawful mace in the Weapons Pak and Stinkor's reversed forearms.

Originally Posted by bcrduke

Ha!

(maybe I've been taking you literally when you have been trying to be humorously sarcastic - if so I'm sorry for the misinterpretation).

I'm not the Master of Sarcasm, I'm Master of 200X. But that was my attempt at sarcasm, but it might be true...Mattel designers do extra stuff to 4H designs.

It's nowhere near as dark a spot as the ones Pixel Dan & The Fwoosh show. That spot is nothing compared to those two review figures....the NYCC one is not even that noticeable, as opposed to the spray can effect the other two have....that's likely why he didn't notice it. The NYCC one actually looks like a shadow instead of looking like she used her net to spray paint a net pattern on a wall.

I believe the black stain is a nod to her 200x design, or at least what she would have looked like had the show continued. It's also in the Power and Honor book, page 534. Mark Taylor put the black stain as a joke to see if Roger Sweet would say anything. Sweet saw the prank coming a mile away and didn't take the bait.

The truth is, none of us really have a clue what it is. We're all just speculating. Which is fine, but let's not latch onto any one idea too quickly. It doesn't matter to me because I plan to always have the cape on, but I'd be very fascinated to know what's happening there.

Looks intentional to me, maybe just to add shading to the only indented part of a big flat cape.

Probably not intentional to be blasted with a spray of black instead a quicker, lighter spray. I can see the factory not knowing exactly what it was intended to be, since it's not a typical surface that would be shaded.

Doesn't bother me in the least, but if it's just a bit of black spray on blue plastic maybe it can be removed easily enough.

Looks intentional to me, maybe just to add shading to the only indented part of a big flat cape.

Probably not intentional to be blasted with a spray of black instead a quicker, lighter spray. I can see the factory not knowing exactly what it was intended to be, since it's not a typical surface that would be shaded.

Doesn't bother me in the least, but if it's just a bit of black spray on blue plastic maybe it can be removed easily enough.

If the cape is molded blue (which it appears to be), and the paint is not overly thick....it's a possibility, Alcohol shouldn't damage it, but anything heavier I'd steer clear from.

The dark spot, and the strange change in the shape of the spot are clearly a reaction either between the paint on the hair and the cape paint and plastic, or the gel used to release the pieces from the mold.

You all realize that by suggesting that this was intentional, you're giving Mattel permission to suggest that it was.

If VeeBee & Pixel Dan both say it appears to be an intentional paint app, then it's an intentional paint app. Both of these guys have examined the entire line thoroughly (and many other toys) and they both know a paint app when they see it.

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by shadowfall1976

It's nowhere near as dark a spot as the ones Pixel Dan & The Fwoosh show. That spot is nothing compared to those two review figures....the NYCC one is not even that noticeable, as opposed to the spray can effect the other two have....that's likely why he didn't notice it. The NYCC one actually looks like a shadow instead of looking like she used her net to spray paint a net pattern on a wall.

And, unfortunately, it's pretty common for a light spray to create a shadow at the design stage ends up being a clunky mess on the production figure too. I always wish toy companies would think ahead about how a factory could err and avoid it. It's no surprise they added the black overspray for some texture on the cape (plenty of the capes in the line have had it) and this result here is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of those decisions.

Also, it should be noted that Dan & Veebs review production samples and not final figures. We might get lucky here and doing a better job on the back of the cape could have been part of the feedback given on the final run.

If VeeBee & Pixel Dan both say it appears to be an intentional paint app, then it's an intentional paint app. Both of these guys have examined the entire line thoroughly (and many other toys) and they both know a paint app when they see it.

- - - Updated - - -

And, unfortunately, it's pretty common for a light spray to create a shadow at the design stage ends up being a clunky mess on the production figure too. I always wish toy companies would think ahead about how a factory could err and avoid it. It's no surprise they added the black overspray for some texture on the cape (plenty of the capes in the line have had it) and this result here is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of those decisions.

Also, it should be noted that Dan & Veebs review production samples and not final figures. We might get lucky here and doing a better job on the back of the cape could have been part of the feedback given on the final run.

Right, and I did say that in one of these threads....somewhere....about them being only review samples....so hopefully it's not a common thing, but likely it will be....

This is my last post about this, because I'm not mad, nor am I worked up, but I'm just surprised that some here are actually willing to believe that this is a shading choice.

If it were shading, it would look like all the other capes that have shading all Over them.

This is one spot, and the spot has almost a warped thinning. And it just happens to be where her hair is pressed against the cape while in package.

It may look like shading but there isn't much logic to that, as it's not anywhere else on the cape. Incidentally, neither Dan nor Veebs said, definitively, that the spot was a shading application. . It was more a suggestion.

Frankly, if it were shading, it was not executed well... And at this point, I'm starting to wonder why both Frosta and Netossa had highly questionable design changes from their prototypes. Why is design choosing to "uglify" these figures? LOL

Do I think it was intentional? No, but now I hope it was, because if not, then another month and a half in package may cause a chemical burn through the cape.

You're right! I just checked my own pics and it's there - but what's interesting is that it's barely there. I didn't notice it in the case. But, it's a lot darker in the review pics.

That makes me think that it is a chemical reaction - the NYCC one obviously wasn't in the package as long as the samples Veebs and Dan received.

Which means the ones WE all get might be a LOT worse . If this is an issue of the cape being exposed to something on the hair (either the paint or the mold gel), then another month of exposure is only going to make the stain and change in plastic worse

Ugh . She was nearly perfect!! She's still beautiful, but I wish this weren't a problem.

Umm...if they wanted a shadow from the hair...wouldn't the hair create a natural shadow? Why paint a shadow?
Seems silly...as it looks like a mistake when she's using it "as her weapon" like Matty says.

Originally Posted by bcrduke

That makes me think that it is a chemical reaction - the NYCC one obviously wasn't in the package as long as the samples Veebs and Dan received.

Which means the ones WE all get might be a LOT worse . If this is an issue of the cape being exposed to something on the hair (either the paint or the mold gel), then another month of exposure is only going to make the stain and change in plastic worse

Ugh . She was nearly perfect!! She's still beautiful, but I wish this weren't a problem.

I love collecting MOTUC. There is never a dull moment when ineptness takes center stage!

1) Reversing Stinkor's forearms - NO ONE requested this
2) gray paint/plastic instead of brillant white on Frosta - despite the numerous times the community spoke up about it and their concerns prior to her release.
3) Changing Frosta's cape from translucent to solid and her hair from solid to translucent - NO ONE REQUESTED THIS (in fact, they wanted the opposite)
4) Putting a green variant of Clawful's mace into the weapons pack, even though it was already green.
5) Using black plastic for the majority of a figure, applying paint over it, and having the paint come off and reveal black plastic. (a "cost saving" technique)
6) Applying a shadow to Netossa's cape, despite the fact it is also her weapon and won't be displayed underneath her hair at all times

but I'm just surprised that some here are actually willing to believe that this is a shading choice.

If it were shading, it would look like all the other capes that have shading all Over them.

This is one spot, and the spot has almost a warped thinning. And it just happens to be where her hair is pressed against the cape while in package.

It may look like shading but there isn't much logic to that, as it's not anywhere else on the cape. Incidentally, neither Dan nor Veebs said, definitively, that the spot was a shading application. . It was more a suggestion.

Frankly, if it were shading, it was not executed well... And at this point, I'm starting to wonder why both Frosta and Netossa had highly questionable design changes from their prototypes. Why is design choosing to "uglify" these figures? LOL

Do I think it was intentional? No, but now I hope it was, because if not, then another month and a half in package may cause a chemical burn through the cape.

You're one of my absolute favorite Orgers, so I'm not calling you out, but I'm just as surprised that anyone could suggest this is a "chemical burn".

The plastic used in toys is chemically inert, two pieces of plastic placed next to another will not "burn" one another (it is possible to transfer the dye from one piece of plastic to another, but we've got blue-molded hair and a blue-molded cape, so that's out). It is presumably possible that the the plastic mix was done improperly and that some type of chemical reaction could be going on, but if that's the case, then it's worse than anyone here thinks as she likely wouldn't be safe to handle either.

I suppose there is a chance of chemical deformation from the paint and the softer plastic. I mean, it's still unlikely that a factory would use a paint that would breakdown plastic, even the softer cape plastic used here, but it's possible. I'd say if we want to stick with the chemical burn angle, it's more likely to be a paint app that is causing the issue (and VeeBee did specifically call it a paint application, but that's neither here nor there).

As for it being bad shading on the capes, I've had plenty with heavy black airbrushing. I think Sir Laser Lot was the worst. It was basically a giant black mass behind his shoulder blades.

Admittedly, I'm not sure what's causing the indentation in the cape. Not having it in hand, I think it's most likely that the plastic tray insert between the body and the cape is pushing the cape back into the hair and that's causing the deformation. I think it's completely unrelated to the black paint spray I'm seeing in the pictures.

Honestyl, I can't see any reason not to think the simplest explanation is the answer: a badly executed paint application. It seems fairly consistent in its size and location, which would indicate to me it's something planned. I think it's just another in the seemingly endless line of bad design choices that's been plaguing the line of late.

At least it looks like her legs got fixed...

"I will use this power for all the good that can be done, to work for peace, to encourage virtue, and above all, to preserve life in all its forms..." Superman

1) Reversing Stinkor's forearms - NO ONE requested this
2) gray paint/plastic instead of brillant white on Frosta - despite the numerous times the community spoke up about it and their concerns prior to her release.
3) Changing Frosta's cape from translucent to solid and her hair from solid to translucent - NO ONE REQUESTED THIS (in fact, they wanted the opposite)
4) Putting a green variant of Clawful's mace into the weapons pack, even though it was already green.
5) Using black plastic for the majority of a figure, applying paint over it, and having the paint come off and reveal black plastic. (a "cost saving" technique)
6) Applying a shadow to Netossa's cape, despite the fact it is also her weapon and won't be displayed underneath her hair at all times